The only alternative candidate to Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the November presidential election, independent Robert Kennedy Jr., has revealed that in 2010 he suffered a medical anomaly caused by a worm that had entered his brain and eaten part of it. In an interview for the Pushing the limits with Brian Saphiro podcast, he stated that he remembers experiencing “brain fog” and “having trouble with word pronunciation and short-term memory.”
When he started experiencing these symptoms, he went to the doctor and was told he had a tumor in his brain that needed to be removed. Kennedy decided to consult another doctor, who, upon observing the images of the brain, doubted that it was a tumor. After observing that the anomaly had not grown, the candidate remembers that they told him that “almost certainly” it was “a very common parasite in India, which got into your brain, ate and died.”
Kennedy’s campaign team said Wednesday that he had “traveled extensively in Africa, South America and Asia” as part of his work as an environmental lawyer and said he contracted the parasite on one of those trips. The New York Times, which first reported the incident on Wednesday, said Kennedy had already spoken about the matter in 2012, when he explained that he was divorcing his second wife due to health problems, but no one paid attention. attention he now receives: “my health problems could be caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a part of it and then died,” he said then.
“The problem was resolved more than 10 years ago and he now enjoys robust physical and mental health. Questioning Mr. Kennedy’s health is a hilarious suggestion, given his competence,” said his campaign team, comparing the candidate to the old age of Biden (81 years) and Trump (77 years). Like both candidates, Kennedy’s campaign has refused to make his medical information public.
A 70-year-old lawyer, he is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy and presents himself as the candidate of youth and those who seek a third alternative to the “chaos” of Trump and the “old age” of Biden. Last year, he presented his candidacy in the Democratic primaries, but ended up leaving his uncle’s party, claiming that the Democratic establishment had turned its back on him. At this time, he continues to gather signatures to be able to appear normally in all states, something he anticipates he will achieve in July, coinciding with the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
His figure is not without controversy. He gained notoriety as a result of the pandemic, when he became a regular on Fox News talk shows, where he defended anti-vaccine postulates and spread hoaxes without scientific evidence. Recently, he has appeared on a series of podcasts with American far-right media figures such as Alex Jones, Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson. His controversial opinions, sometimes conspiratorial, have led his own family to ask one of his rivals, President Biden, to vote.
The latest available survey, published this week by PBS, gives him 11% of the voting intention if he can be presented. A high percentage if compared to what other independent candidates have obtained historically, but disappointing if one takes into account that their rivals receive the disapproval of close to 60% of the population, according to the FiveThirtyEight model.
The cognitive problem revealed this week does not help either, nor the ones he suffered throughout his life. The candidate assured that his brain was also affected by mercury poisoning, which can cause serious neurological problems. According to Kennedy, he underwent a series of blood tests that showed his mercury levels were 10 times the level the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe.
These health problems are added to another that he has been suffering from for decades, atrial fibrillation, a heartbeat abnormality that increases the risk of suffering from strokes and heart failure. The candidate has been hospitalized at least four times for this condition. In addition, as a result of his addiction to heroin for a decade in his youth, he contracted hepatitis C, which has now been treated and has no lingering effects from the infection.
At 70 years old, he is the last member of a dynasty accustomed to tragic endings: his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated in his third year in office (1963); and his father, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, who was also a presidential candidate, was the victim of another crime five years later.
